<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Birthday (failed) Date by tbzlovers</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28783068">Birthday (failed) Date</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbzlovers/pseuds/tbzlovers'>tbzlovers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>* The Boyz Birthdays Fics * [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Boyz (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Birthday, Birthday Fluff, First Meetings, Happy Birthday Lee Juyeon!, M/M, Meet-Cute</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:28:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28783068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbzlovers/pseuds/tbzlovers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There was nothing worse than having to go against your own will to some blind date you were set up with, on your birthday. Adding to it the fact the Juyeon had been sitting at the coffee shop for over an hour, accepting the fate that he has been stood up, it was easy to conclude that this was promising to be the worst birthday ever.</p><p>Cue in the pretty barista who couldn’t help but take note of his lone self.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Juyeon, Mentioned Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Moon Hyungseo | Kevin - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>* The Boyz Birthdays Fics * [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2236113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Birthday (failed) Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was a little one shot i wrote in celebration of our Juyeonie's day! I'm a day late, but hopefully still on time, I hope you like it &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The season was winter, the month was January, the day was 15, and Lee Juyeon was starting to accept that this might just be his worse birthday ever.</p><p>The problem was that between him and his esteemed friend Jacob, he wasn’t sure which one was more of a too nice person.</p><p>It all started when said friend politely messaged him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>Jakey-hyung</em> </strong>
</p><p>
  <em>I got you a blind date with this friend of a friend</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bet @ the location below on the 15th at 4pm</em>
</p><p>[Jakey-hyung has attached a location]</p><p> </p><p>Juyeon had stared at the phone for some long seconds before simply pressing on Jacob’s number and putting the phone to his ear.</p><p>“Hey Juyeon-ah, what’s -”</p><p>“Hyung!” he whined into the phone before the other could even finish. “What do you mean you booked me some date for the fifteenth?”</p><p>“Yes, I didn’t forget our chat on New Year’s Eve, I told you I would help!”</p><p>Oh god, New Year’s Eve…</p><p>The thing is, Juyeon got drunk at the small year-end party he attended with his friends. And by drunk, he meant an 8 out of 10 in the scale. Meaning he remembered perfectly well everything that had been said and done, but the amount of alcohol in his system had still been enough for him to pour out his heart to an equally buzzed Jacob, and tell him all about how his wonderful and steady relationship, with his other great friend Kevin, made him jealous sometimes because he did not have something like it, and felt lonely next to them.</p><p>It had also meant throwing out all food he had ingested that evening some two hours into the new year, while Jacob sweetly patted his back, and yet none of that had been enough to make either of them forget their stupid chat.</p><p>So now Jacob, and by default Kevin, had made it their mission to find Juyeon a suitable partner so he would stop feeling like a third wheel to them. <em>“We just want you to be happy!”</em> Jacob would add in his messages every time he sent a tinder profile or a photo of some random guy he knew of for Juyeon to assess. This had been going on for over a week now, and it seemed his friend had taken matters into his own hands and, tired of Juyeon vetting his choices constantly, had gone and booked a date for him with someone.</p><p>Except that the 15<sup>th</sup> was 3 days away, and very much Juyeons’s birthday. And no matter how great this date could turn out, Juyeon definitely did not feel like spending his birthday with someone he had just met, instead of with some family or friends. He would bet his entire book collection that Jacob had forgotten that tiny detail.</p><p>“Hyung, you forgot the fifteenth is my birthday, didn’t you?” he complained over the phone, already knowing what the answer would be. Jacob was way too good of a person to purposefully try to hinder someone’s special day like that.</p><p>And if the stretching silence from the other side of the line was not telling enough, then the small <em>“Fuck”</em> that followed definitely was. Because unless the situation was serious, or very out of his hands, his friend Jacob did not curse. Ever.</p><p><em>“Juyeonie, oh my god, I’m so sorry, how could I forget,” </em>he started to ramble, <em>“I’ll tell my friend to tell him you can’t make it, and I’ll check some other day, I promise, I’m so sorry -”</em></p><p>“Hyung, it’s fine, I’ll go.” Juyeon interrupted, already sealing his fate. He didn’t want Jacob in a dire situation either.</p><p>
  <em>“Juyeon, you don’t have to, I’m serious. Are you sure? I can tell them you can’t make it.”</em>
</p><p>“I’m serious, I’ll go, don’t worry. It’s fine hyung.” He replied. “Besides, it’s not like I had planned anything for the day, maybe this is actually a good thing.” he tried to convince Jacob, but also himself. Definitively tried to convince himself. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”</p><p> </p><p>So now here was Juyeon at the coffee shop Jacob had told him of, sat at some booth in the corner, latte long gone from his cup, staring at the clock behind the counter, where the pointers at ‘5pm’ seemed to be mocking his situation. He was definitely not fine.</p><p>He had been stood up, there was no sugar-coating the situation.</p><p>He didn’t know whether to feel sad, frustrated, or just really angry, both at the guy that hadn’t bothered showing up and at Jacob for having put him in this situation (even if in the end he knew he could never, Jacob would already feel plenty guilty about this when he found out as it was). Yet, he stayed there dumbly, still hoping, even as the clock hit 17:10, that the person coming in would be the one from the photo his friend had hastily sent him three days ago after he agreed to be here.</p><p>In fact, he had been so busy self-loathing, that at first he did not understand what was happening as a steamy mug was placed in front of him, the beautiful hand holding it invading his line of vision for a second before releasing the cup, but effectively getting him out of his thoughts.</p><p>After some confused moments staring at it, Juyeon finally grasped that a waiter had just served him something, so he lifted his head hurriedly, ready to tell them that he had not ordered anything, and was in fact, thinking of leaving. However, he couldn’t help but stop mid gesture, as he took in the boy that was staring back at him, eyes widening when their gazes locked.</p><p>This was most definitely not the boy that had been at the till when Juyeon had bought his latte one hour ago. He was sure he would remember if it had been such a face welcoming him and asking him what he would be having. Because the boy staring at him, small nervous smile on his face, was possibly the prettiest person he had seen in years. If ever.</p><p>The bleach blonde boy had doe eyes that, despite the eyebags not totally disguised by the concealer (a student like him, perhaps?), shone with warmth and a hint of nervousness in the low light of the café, and a straight nose that beautifully complimented them. Adding to it his lips, lower one jutted out in an unintentional pout, and contrasting with the chiselled jawline that Juyeon couldn’t help but roam his eyes over, this boy had just become the first pleasant thing he had, in all honesty, seen and interacted with the whole day.</p><p>“I- uhm…” the other started, ears getting red as Juyeon idiotically kept on staring at him, unable to say anything, “I’m sorry if I’m reading things wrong, but I kept looking at you from behind the coffee machine – WAIT, this sounded, weird, I’m sorry.” He put his hand to his face briefly, Juyeon smiling unintentionally at the cuteness displayed. “Let me start over. I just saw you slumped here, and you keep looking at the door every time someone comes in…” he said in a small voice. “I thought you might need this.”</p><p>“Oh.” Juyeon replied very smartly.</p><p>“Don’t worry, it’s on the house! I hope you like hot chocolate.” The other added, gesturing for the mug placed in front of Juyeon.</p><p>A fond smile bloomed on his face, as the steam from the chocolate tickled his nose. This boy had gone out of his way to do this for him because he had seen him looking dejected in his seat. Juyeon couldn’t help but feel a warm fuzzy feeling n his chest at the small action. He turned his eyes back to the waiter, intending to reply, but got caught up once again on how the pink blush dusted his cheeks the most beautifully under the dim lights of the shop.</p><p>“Well. I’ll -” the boy started, after a while of them just staring at each other, “I’ll be going. Gotta get back to the counter.” The boy nodded to himself. “Yea. Sorry.” And he turned around to walk away.</p><p>Juyeon processed what had just happened a whole two more seconds before what the other had just told him hit him. <em>Juyeon, you’re so damn stupid!</em></p><p>“Wait, wait!” he called nervously, hoping the other wouldn’t be angry at him. <em>How could he be so panicked in front of one simple guy?</em></p><p>The other turned around, customer smile etched on. “Yes?”</p><p><em>C’mon Juyeon, don’t be an idiot.</em> “Thank you so much!” <em>Success!</em> “I really needed this. Like, this now was probably the only good thing that happened in my day. Thank you.” He also gave the boy a toothy grin that, hopefully, would convey how much he meant what he had just said.</p><p>In return, he got a smile just as winning, that Juyeon was sure could cure diseases. The boy really was the single most handsome thing in the room. “You’re welcome, I hope I didn’t overstep with this.” He replied enthusiastically.</p><p>“Oh, not at all!” <em>Please stay for a bit longer.</em> “I think I got stood up. So yeah, not such a great day. This felt nice.”</p><p>The other stared at him disbelieving before huffing. “You? Got stood up?” Another, stronger chuckle. “Definitely their loss.”</p><p><em>Oh</em>. Had the other just complimented him? Juyeon felt his cheeks blushing, not used to phrases like this being thrown at him.</p><p>“T-thank you.” he stuttered out.</p><p>“What time were they supposed to be here? Sorry, just because I didn’t see when you came in, was in the back manning some things.”</p><p>“Well,” Juyeon shrugged. “He was supposed to be here at four. So I’ve been here for one hour.” He smiled painfully at the blonde before lowering his head embarrassed. “I guess I’m not even sure why I stayed this long.”</p><p>The other eyed him sadly for some seconds, before awkwardly replying. “I’m on my break right now. So if you’re not thinking of leaving right away, I can keep you company for a little?” he anxiously looked at Juyeon, who could do nothing but let the glee he just felt spread through his body. “I guess while you drink your hot chocolate? And only if you feel like it! Please don’t feel under any obligation.”</p><p>Here this person was, being the only warm thing in Juyeon’s entire day, considering the idea that he would not be over the moon with getting to spend some more minutes with him. Preposterous.</p><p>“Oh, please, yes, yes, please stay, that would be so nice!” he pleaded.</p><p>The other replied to him with a toothy smile, crowfeet appearing in his eyes, clearly happy Juyeon had chosen to let him sit with him. “Perfect then!” he sat opposite of Juyeon, carefully removing his apron. “Okay then, hi, I’m Lee Jaehyun, college student, I work as a barista here.”</p><p>Lee Jaehyun? He liked it. Their names complemented each other.</p><p>“Hi to you too, I’m Lee Juyeon, also a college student, and I get stood up on dates.”</p><p>Jaehyun laughed freely at his dumb joke before replying in kind. “Well Juyeon, I’m certainly not the person who you had a date appointed with, but I can keep you company just as well for a while.” He eyed the clock behind the counter. “Well, at least until five thirty, when my break ends.”</p><p>Juyeon shook his head repeatedly. “Oh, don’t worry you’re more than enough. You just made this birthday a whole lot better.”</p><p>Jaehyun absorbed the information for some moments, and then his eyes widened comically. “Wait, today’s your birthday??”</p><p>“Oh. Yeah, kind of.” Juyeon replied, lowering his head bashfully.</p><p>“Tsk!” Jaehyun replied indignantly. “So this dude really stood you up on your own birthday? What an asshole.” he spat with a frown, before his look changed to a determined one and he got up from his seat in a haste. “Okay, you know what? We’re celebrating.” And he darted out of his seat before Juyeon could even say something back, going behind the counter and entering the “STAFF ONLY” door behind it.</p><p>He came back not even five minutes later, sitting down wearing a dumb FROZEN themed party hat on his head, and holding a pink cupcake carefully between his hands, a candle in the shape of an 8 lit in the middle of it.</p><p>“I’m sorry this was all he had.” Jaehyun pouted. “But this kid had her birthday here last week so I figured we should still have some -”</p><p>“Jaehyun.” Juyeon interrupted. Damn, the other’s name felt nice on his lips. “Trust me, this is so much more than okay. Thank you.”</p><p>Seeing that he would not be yelled at by Juyeon, Jaehyun smiled at him satisfied. “You’re welcome! I hope you like the cupcake, they’re from this nice shop a few blocks away.” He nudged him with his free arm. “But c’mon, blow the candle and make a wish!”</p><p>Juyeon giggled at his antics. “Okay, okay.”</p><p>He blew the candle quickly, and grasped his hands together to make a wish, thinking of some grandiose actions, before simply setting on one small thing he wished fate could do better on next year.</p><p>He opened his eyes slowly, finding Jaehyun eyeing him deeply.</p><p>“Done?”</p><p>Juyeon nodded.</p><p>“What did you ask for?”</p><p>He laughed at the other's unabashedly nosy self, and shrugged. “Just for next year’s birthday to turn be slightly better.” He eyed the boy in front of him, puppy eyes glinting under the yellow lights of the coffee shop, no judgment in his features. “Even if this one just turned out not so bad.”</p><p>He got in reply the most beaming smile, Jaehyun ears turning a wonderful shade of pink, and Juyeon could do nothing but stare in awe. Yeah, he would definitely be going home today with that toothy grin engraved in his mind.</p><p>The barista swallowed before replying. “Then I hope your next ones are better too.”</p><p> </p><p>And in fact, six years later, as Juyeon strolled hand in hand with Jaehyun through Disneyland Paris, the silliest choice of a honeymoon for some, but perfect in their frankly more relevant opinion (and it was his birthday, he got to choose), he couldn’t help but be thankful to that one birthday that now felt so distant, and chuckle at how he had thought poorly of it for the better part of that day, but how in the end, it had been the most important birthday of his life, since it had given him the best present of all.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/breadhyunjae"> Twitter </a> -  where I generally scream over 11(+1) boyz, particularly over a certain Lee Hyunjae.<br/><a href="https://curiouscat.qa/TheBoyzLovers"> Curious Cat </a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>